A Purrfect Friend?
by PoeticallyIncorrect1
Summary: Jai brefriends a lost kitten.  Jai/OC?  Just a fun bit of fluff.
1. You Could Always Name Her Mandy

_A/N first of all I own no claim to Covert Affairs. I just like to play around with the characters._

_Blame this on the bunnies. They gave it to me in the middle of the night after I saw the calico kitty who washed up on a New York island. __I'm responsible for the punny title though._

_This obviously goes out to Mandy58 again._

_**A PURRFECT FRIEND?**_

The kitten sat huddled under the edge of the roof in a futile attempt to get out of the rain and into someplace dry and hopefully with food. When she saw the garage door start to rise she made a dash for it making sure she kept well away from the tires of the vehicle. Running straight to a spot near the stairway she made an attempt to shake herself dry while keeping an eye on the car as it came to a stop not far away.

Parking his car in his customary spot Jai wearily got out and grabbed the shopping bags from the back seat. Earlier in the day he and Annie had returned from an op in Paris and after a lengthy debriefing they'd both headed for home with him making a quick stop for much needed provisions. Not wanting to carry everything up the two flights of stairs Jai opted for the often cantankerous elevator. Still holding onto the bags he managed to push the elevator button and waited impatiently as it finally arrived and the doors opened.

Following the tantalizing smells coming from one of the bags in the man's hands, the kitten quickly dashed onto the elevator before the doors could close and sat down in the corner letting out a startled meow as the elevator started it's jerky ascent.

_Now where did that kitten come from? _Jai wondered hearing the meow. When elevator came to a stop he watched as the doors opened and it slipped ahead of him out of the elevator. Hands full of shopping bags he stepped out and walked the short distance to his apartment. Letting himself inside he went straight to the kitchen to put away the purchases and grab a bottle of beer. Setting it on the kitchen counter he headed for the bedroom to change into a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeved T-shirt. Remembering how wet the kitten was he decided the least he could do was dry it off.

The kitten was waiting outside his apartment when Jai stepped out the door an old towel in his hand. Kneeling down in front of the kitten he spoke softly saying, "Here, kitty, kitty." As it took a few hesitant steps toward the young man he expertly scooped the kitten up in the towel smiling at the resulting indignant hiss.

Gently rubbing the kitten in the towel Jai took the time to get a close look as he carried her back inside the apartment and straight to the bathroom. The longish calico hued coat was somewhat muddy and tangled and it definitely felt as though it may have missed a meal or two. Getting the kitten as dry as he could Jai let it loose to sit on the sink while he reached for a spare comb.

The kitten instead of showing gratitude to her benefactor attempted to puff up and let out what she thought was a threatening hiss while sinking her claws into the back of his hand.

"You're definitely a feisty little one," Jai commented as he gently extricated the needle sharp claws from his hand and daubed at the scratches with a tissue. "Come and let's see if I can find something to feed you. I believe I read somewhere that cats liked scrambled eggs."

The kitten mewed and looked up at him a beguiling expression in her jade colored eyes.

"You like that, huh?" Jai commented. "But before I feed you I need to fix up some sort of litter box." Reaching under the sink he retrieved a small plastic wash pan he'd been sent home with after his recent hospital stay. Pan in hand he went to go tear up some newspaper to put in it.

The kitten hopped off the sink and followed the young man as he tore up several sheets of news paper and then carried the pan into the laundry room.

Setting the pan on the floor Jai watched in amusement as the kitten ambled over to it and peered in. "I really hope you're litter trained or you will end up outside in the hallway," he stated. Leaving her to the litter box he headed into the kitchen to see if he did have everything for scrambled eggs deciding that it would make a good enough supper for himself. Cook up a small amount of plain for the kitten and add chopped veggies and cheese to his.

After the simple supper Jai put the kitten in the laundry room and shut the door before he stretched out on the couch flipping through the news channels until he drifted off to sleep only to wake up several hours later to an annoying infomercial on the latest hair replacement drugs. After shutting off the TV he went to check on the kitten hoping not to disturb her but she was alert and staring up at him as soon as the door opened.

"Well I can see you're okay," Jai said sleepily and turned to head to the bedroom.

Returning to his bed Jai realized too late that he'd left the doors to both the laundry room and bedroom not completely closed. No sooner had he turned off the light and closed his eyes he barely felt the kitten land on his chest and softly pad her way up to his neck. Certain that he was going to feel her claws again he was pleasantly surprised to feel her patting his hair a few times before settling down and purring with both human and cat slowly drifting off to sleep.

In the morning he was awakened by the sound of meowing and his hair being tugged at. Reaching a hand up he gently scooped up the kitten and said, "Okay okay. I'm awake. No hair pulling please." Getting to his feet he carried her back into the laundry room. "Looks like you get leftover scrambled eggs this morning and then I'll go get some kitten food. When I get back I'm going to give you a proper bath. Need you looking pretty when I take your picture."

_Mew _was the response.

After making sure the kitten was fed and shut in the laundry room Jai quickly got ready to go pick up pet supplies and have breakfast at the café downstairs. Once he got back he planned on cleaning the kitten up so he could get a good picture to post on the lost and found pet websites. With luck whoever she belonged to would come forward and claim her unless she'd been abandoned.

"Remember this is just a temporary arrangement until some one comes forward to claim you," Jai told the kitten as he set the litter box and pet dishes in a corner of the laundry room.

The kitten meowed and looked up as if to say _We'll see about that._

Jai laughed and picked her up to carry her into the bathroom where he quickly gave a bath and then pet comb in hand set to work on the tangles. Combing hair was easy since he'd had first a younger cousin who liked him to comb her hair when he stayed with her family during part of the summers and later on his college girlfriend had teased him about becoming a hairdresser. Soon he tangles had been gently combed out and the kitten gently dried off no longer looking as bedraggled as she had been earlier. A couple of quick pictures taken with his phone and he'd go upload them later.

Fortunately for Jai nothing of importance had come up to summon him back to Langley and so he spent the peaceful and well deserved weekend in the company of his furry roommate. Monday morning he left her in the laundry room with fresh litter and plenty of food and water and headed off to work.

Annie was passing by Jai's desk when she caught a quick glimpse of the picture he was looking at on his phone. "What's that in the picture?" she asked making conversation.

"A lost kitten. She showed up at my building Friday night. I took her picture to post on some pet websites. Hopefully someone will come forward and claim her," he answered.

"Oh she's adorable, Jai," Annie commented looking at the picture he showed her. "What's her name?"

"I haven't decided because if she has an owner then she's got a name. I guess I could call her _Ms. Kitty_ or something like that," Jai answered.

"You know you could always name her _Mandy_ after your favorite waitress," Annie teased.

"It's more like I'm her favorite customer," Jai stated.

"Yeah. Whatever," the young woman replied taking a seat at her desk.

Shaking his head at Annie's teasing the young man resumed studying the latest intelligence reports. But as he worked he was thinking over the name suggestion. He did like Mandy and her perkiness although as far as he could tell didn't get any more preferential treatment than her other customers. _Yes, Mandy, would be just the name for the kitten_ he decided.

_A/N Anybody else want to be an OC in my fics?_


	2. Maybe I Could Call You Sometime

_A/N First of all I have no claim to Covert Affairs. I just like to play with the characters._

_Thiis story takes place after Jai's birthday._

_I was gonna get this up Sunday night except I wasn't able to. _

_Enjoy._

_**A PURRFECT FRIEND?**_

Two weeks had passed since Mandy had taken up residence in Jai's apartment and life had settled into some semblance of routine. She had taken to sleeping with him to insure prompt rising to meet her demands. So far nobody had came for forward to claim the loveable little kitten and Jai knew he couldn't keep her. But an overheard conversation when out at lunch one day had led him to the perfect plan for finding Mandy her new home.

The day finally arrived and Jai was up early enough to get Mandy ready with a bath and careful combing out of her fluffy coat. A bright pink collar with her name on it finished the kitten's presentation. Then she was into her carrier with food water and a small litter box.

Arriving at Langley Jai parked his car in the secure parking lot and left the windows rolled down so the kitten would be okay. Reaching into the carrier to give her a pat the young man said, "If all works out as planned you'll be going to a new home."

"Hey, Jai. You want to join Auggie and I for lunch?" Annie asked as she paused by his desk before moving on to her own.

"I've got to run an errand. May catch up to you later. Where are you gonna be?" the young man asked.

"Hadn't decided yet. I'll text you when I know," Annie replied.

"All right," he replied.

It was shortly before lunch time when Jai finished up his work and headed out for _Mikes'_ to drop Mandy off with her hopefully new owner.

Entering the restaurant Jai could see that it just about empty although it was getting close to lunch time. Taking a seat in one of the booths he smiled seeing Mandy heading toward him menu in hand.

"Hi, Jai,' the young woman said cheerfully as she placed the menu on the table and pulled out her order book.

"Hey, Mandy, I was wondering if you could take a break for a few minutes" Jai told her.

She glanced around the nearly deserted restaurant and replied, "Well, it's _the calm before the storm _so maybe I can. Be right back." Giving him a smile she headed for the kitchen and stuck her head in the doorway. "Hey, Mike. Okay if I take five? I'll let the girls know where I am."

"Go ahead," Mike replied not looking up from where he was playing _FronteirVille _on his laptop.

Shaking her head Mandy headed back over to where Jai was sitting and said, "I've got five minutes. What did you want?"

" I've got something for you. I guess you could consider it a birthday present but I need to get it out of my car. Come on," he replied getting to his feet.

Outside in the parking lot Jai was greeted by an indignant meow when he opened the car door. "Okay, okay," he said reaching into the carrier and gently removing the kitten.

"Oh she's adorable. Can I hold her?" Mandy asked looking at the kitten in Jai's hands.

"Sure, go ahead," he replied carefully handing her over.

"She's so soft. What's her name?" Mandy asked stroking the kitten. "Oh you is a pretty girl."

"Her name is _Mandy_. I though that was a pretty name," Jai replied not mentioning the fact that Annie had originally suggested the name as a joke.

Do you know what Mandy means?" the young woman asked.

"Never thought about it actually," Jai replied.

"It's a variation of the name _Amanda_ and means _loveable _or _she who must be loved_," Mandy replied stroking the kitten.

"She certainly is loveable," Jai commented reaching up to stroke the kitten's soft fur.

"Where did you get her?" the young woman asked.

"She showed up at my apartment building during that big rainstorm two weeks ago. Nobody claimed her and I can't keep her because my building doesn't allow pets," he replied. "So she's yours. Happy Birthday."

"She's the best birthday present I've had in along time," Mandy said reaching up to give Jai a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

"I made sure the vet checked her over and she's current on her immunizations," he replied. He took the kitten from Mandy and put her back in the carrier. "Where are you going to keep her the rest of your shift?"

"I think I can hide her in the employee restroom," the young woman replied and took the carrier. "I'd better get back to work."

"I'll head on inside," Jai answered. As he headed for the door he pulled out his phone and saw he had a text from Annie. _We'll be at Mike's. Meet us there?"_

He quickly texted back _I'll be there. _

Mandy had carefully stored the cat carrier in the restroom and headed for the booth where Jai was. Giving him a bright smile she asked, "What can I get you to drink?"

"Iced tea will do nicely," he answered. "So it's okay for you to have a pet where you live?"

"It is. I was looking for a kitten. My grandmother used to say _You don't find a cat, it'll find you_. I'll be back in a jiff," the young woman answered and hurried away.

"Maybe I could call you sometime. We could have coffee and you can tell how Mandy is doing," Jai suggested when she returned with his iced tea.

"That sounds nice. Let me give you my number," the young woman replied. She reached into her apron pocket to pull out her order book. Quickly scribbling down the numbers she tore the page out of the book and handed it to him.

Jai slipped it into his wallet and looked up to see Annie and Auggie just entering the restaurant. With a smile he waved them over to join him.

"Did you get your errand run?" Annie asked as she took a seat across from him.

"Yeah. I was just dropping off a birthday present," he answered smiling at Mandy who was headed their way.

_A/N Ifthe bunnies give me any more ideas there may be more to come. Meanwhile I'm back to working on Tender Loving Care._


End file.
